The 10 Easy Steps to Install Windows 10

 The 10 Easy Steps to Install Windows 10

How to install Windows 10? Just follow these 10 easy steps and you’ll be good to go! If you are looking for step-by-step instructions with screenshots, visit our how to install Windows 10 tutorial page. These ten steps will help you prepare your computer and download Windows 10 before the official release date of July 29th, 2015. If you want to be one of the first people in the world to get their hands on Windows 10, read on!

1) Create A Recovery Drive

In addition to your regular backups, you might want to create a recovery drive. Doing so is simple: just insert a flash drive and then follow these steps: Open Control Panel > Backup And Restore (Windows 7) or File History (Windows 8). If you're using Windows 8, click System Protection on the left, then click Create. In both cases you'll be asked how much space you want to dedicate; select at least 8GB, which should provide ample space for creating multiple recovery points. You'll also be asked if you want System Protection turned on—do so unless it's causing problems with your PC. Click Next, then click Finish when it's finished copying files onto your flash drive. Finally, hit Close and call it a day.

2) Download Windows 10 from Microsoft

To download Windows 10, navigate to Microsoft's Get Windows 10 website. If you already have a Microsoft account, log in; otherwise, sign up for one. Click Download Tool Now and then click Accept on the warning dialog box. Click Run on your computer when prompted. You'll see a screen that offers three options: Upgrade this PC now, Create installation media (USB flash drive or DVD) for another PC, or Not now. You'll want to select Upgrade This PC Now (Windows 7 and 8 will prompt you with similar language). This will download around 3GB of data and take at least an hour or two depending on your internet connection speed.

3) Back Up Everything

The chances of an error during a system upgrade are slim—and Microsoft and Apple do as much as they can to ensure that upgrades go off without a hitch. Still, it’s always a good idea to make sure you’ve got copies of your files saved elsewhere, and that you know where those backups are. In short: You want options. If something goes wrong with your computer after installing an operating system update, you’ll be glad you did your homework ahead of time. Just remember that some service providers lock out data after a few days or weeks (which is why cloud storage is so valuable). So if you have anything on your hard drive that isn't backed up online, do it ASAP.

4) Prepare Your Computer For Upgrade

Microsoft has designed upgrading to be very simple, but there are a few steps you should take before jumping in. Here’s what we recommend: First, make sure that your computer meets all of Windows 10’s system requirements. Next, make sure you have an external hard drive with at least 16GB of free space (you can also use an external drive for temporary storage if you don’t have room on your main hard drive). Finally, run a backup!

5) Format and Partition Your New Drive

Before you begin installing anything, make sure your new drive is clean and free of any data. Use your operating system’s built-in disk utility program (in Windows, right-click This PC and click Properties. In macOS, open Disk Utility and select your hard drive in the left sidebar) to format and partition your drive as necessary. Most hard drives will need a Mac OS Extended (Journaled) partition at least 15 GB in size; if you plan on dual booting OS X and Windows, we recommend making two partitions of about 15 GB each for a more seamless transition between platforms later.

6) Start the Upgrade Process

Whether you’re using a desktop or laptop, your system should be fairly up-to-date with patches and security updates. Before you jump into installing Windows 10, check that everything is up-to-date by running Windows Update in your Control Panel (you can also just right click on This PC and select Properties). Then, start your upgrade process. You can initiate it by opening Settings (the gear icon) > Update & Security > Activation and then clicking on Change Product Key. If prompted, enter a valid key from an existing version of Windows 7 or 8/8.1.

7) Update and Restart When Done

The installation can take anywhere from 30 minutes to several hours, depending on your hardware. The computer will restart a few times during installation. Don’t worry—you won’t lose any files or documents that you haven’t saved yet. You may be prompted by your antivirus software before continuing with setup. Click Yes or Allow and then follow any additional prompts.

8) Set Up Your Account

If you already have a Microsoft account, skip to step 2. If not, click Create a Microsoft Account, then follow the on-screen instructions. Go to Windows Update, and then check if your computer is fully up-to-date by clicking Check for Updates. Click Download Windows 10 when it appears in your search results; Click Run when asked if you want to install it; Once that’s done installing, go back to Settings > Update & Security > Activation and select Change Product Key (enter your product key); Once activated, restart your computer; Make sure all programs are closed first.

9) Set Up Your Email Account(s)

Setting up your email is one of those things that isn’t hard in and of itself but can become challenging if you have several email accounts. After signing up for your new Outlook account, it’s also time to set up another important email account: Your Gmail (or Google Apps) account. The reason is simple: Most workplaces use Outlook as their main email platform, so you’ll want a way to access both. There are two options: Either open a free Gmail account or use your current one. If you already have a gmail address, then go ahead and log into that account now (gottamail has great instructions here). If not, keep on reading.

10) Restore Backups or Data

The first thing to do after a clean install is back up your most important data. If you had Time Machine running on your old system, you can plug in your backup drive and restore your file structure, or use cloud backup services like Dropbox and Google Drive to restore critical documents and files. If you don’t have a recent Time Machine backup, you should save any vital information using cloud-based backup services so that it can be accessed from anywhere at any time. Restoring an old version of a file is much better than having none at all! And if anything goes wrong with your new installation of Windows 10, there are ways to roll back (for free) and get back all of your stuff.